As cases pile up, Nevada’s high court seeks funds for more judges

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2005 | 11:16 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- There are an estimated 600 medical malpractice suits pending in Clark County and there are not enough judges to bring them to trial within the specified time.

In addition there are 200 pending construction defect cases piling up in Southern Nevada.

Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Nancy Becker and Justice Bob Rose told the budget committees of the Legislature on Monday that more money is needed create seven new district judges in Clark County and to pay more retired judges to hear more cases.

In talking about caseload, Rose said the national standard for judges is 1,300 to 1,400 cases per judge. In Clark County, the caseload is 2,400 per judge.

Outside the hearing, Rose said there was a construction defect case involving the Venetian hotel ready to go to trial before a senior judge but it had to be canceled last year because there was no money in the retired justices fund to pay the judge.

There has been an annual budget of up to $300,000 to pay the retired judges to help whittle down the backlog of cases. The Supreme Court is asking to increase that funding to as much as five times that amount -- $1.5 million for each of the next two years. Rose said there are nine retired judges working for the state now and five more are being added this year.

One issue factoring into the use of the retired judges is they "like to work half-time," Rose told the committee.

Becker, in her prepared remarks, said, "A combination of new judges with the use of senior (retired) judges is the most economical method of meeting the citizens' needs because experienced senior judges fulfill critical judicial needs but do not accrue additional operational overhead such as clerks, bailiffs, courtroom maintenance, etc., to the judicial district in which they serve."

A senior judge is paid in salary for the days he or she works and receives per diem compensation and travel expenses. The state pays the salaries of the district judges and the retired judges.

District Judge Kathy Hardcastle, chief judge in the Eighth Judicial District, said 350 medical malpractice cases will be set for trial during the next year.

In April, 21 trials are scheduled. To handle that schedule, each of the 21 civil and criminal judges would have to preside over a two- to four-week trial, effectively putting all other cases on hold, Michael Sommermeyer, the court's spokesman, said in an issued press release.

On Wednesday and Thursday, District Judges Nancy Saitta, Kathy Hardcastle and Elizabeth Gonzalez will bring in both sides on each case to determine trial dates or announce any progress toward settling key differences, with the goal of developing a new trial schedule to accommodate all of the pending cases, Sommermeyer noted.

State law says that cases filed between Oct. 1, 2003, and Oct. 1, 2005, must be brought to trial within three years or a judge can dismiss them on his own motion or the motion of any party. Starting next October, the case must be brought to trial within two years or it is subject to be dismissed. Becker said the judges will be "under the gun" to meet that two-year deadline.

There is a requirement that lawsuits seeking $40,000 or less go to arbitration. Rose said that takes about one year. If there is no agreement, then it takes three years for the case to go to trial, he said. The limit on such a trial is one day.

On the Supreme Court level, Becker said 73 percent of the cases are disposed of in one year.